Friday, 7 February 2014

ETHICAL entrepreneurs and community organisations from the
Lancaster region gathered at the University of Cumbria for a local economic
summit, hosted by the Institute for Leadership and Sustainability.

ESTA chairman Michael Hallam told the 50 delegates that the
objective for the summit was to find ways to spread the ‘think globally, act
locally’ philosophy.

He said: “We live on a finite planet and we’re starting to
see things folding in on themselves. Politicians and governments can’t do
everything. It’s up to everyone to create a sustainable world and we need to
empower communities to come up with their own sustainable initiatives.”

Delegates discussed ideas around the themes of encouraging
lifelong learning, developing a strong community fabric, protecting the
environment and creating a thriving local economy.

Prof Jem Bendell speaking at the event

The University of Cumbria’s Professor Jem Bendell hopes the
partnership with ESTA will help to bring the innovative work being done at
IFLAS – including use of local currencies - to a wider audience.

He said: “Small business is the heartbeat of the community.

“The University of Cumbria has to engage in ways that make
sense to the community. We hope our partnership with ESTA grows.”

Delegates agreed that the summit was a success.

Tony Haslam runs Banking on Carbon Ltd, a Lancaster firm
working to create a local currency for Lancaster with the added benefit of
helping users offset their carbon footprint.

He said: “I came to the summit to raise the profile of the
REALM local currency. It’s really useful to connect with people who don’t know
what we’re doing. There’s a lot going on in Lancaster, but we need to find ways
of getting through to people.”

Delegate Ian Aspin

Delegate Ian Aspin owns a TV company and is currently a PhD
student writing a book about creating shared values within communities.

He said: “What people here are doing is looking at ways to
create shared value and look at ways that we can work together. It starts at
local level like this, but it’s completely scaleable.”

The next ESTA summit will take place at the University of
Cumbria’s Lancaster campus during the summer.